Friday, December 3, 2010

Crowd Of Isolated - 1987-1989


 
I Try To Tell About A Way is my single favorite hardcore album to come out of Germany. I first heard the band sometime in the late '80s on Pat Duncan's radio show on WFMU in NJ. Crowd Of Isolated seemed to be on the playlist just about every Thursday night for at least a year. From the radio show i taped a few songs which i listened to constantly. My favorite track was Don't Stop My Fight, which made it's way onto just about every mixed tape i made during that time. I still can't help but sing along every time i hear it. That track just struck a chord with me and i couldn't go a day without listening to it. A few years later i was able to get a copy of the album through some German mail-order. Eventually i came to appreciate the album as a whole, and it became one of my favorite hardcore albums on the late '80s.

Until recently i was not at all familiar with German hardcore/crossover and at the time Crowd Of Isolated sounded like no other hardcore band i'd ever heard. They had a definite Iron Maiden vibe in just about every aspect of their music, yet it still remained very much hardcore punk. It was crossover, but not in the usual way. The vocals were like a combo of Bruce Dickinson and Elmer Fudd, and once in a while a little Rozz Williams would creep into the mix. Although that may not sound good on paper (or a computer screen in this case), it worked. The music was a mix of melodic, catchy metal riffs, hardcore, and even maybe a touch of emo at times, for lack of a better term. Favorite tracks other than the amazing Don't Stop My Fight would be Under Pressure, Cold Dark World and Love Of My Life, but the album is perfect from start to finish. Absolutely essential.

The rips of the lp, ep, and comp tracks here are excellent. Absolutely no surface noise or pops. All 17 tracks are as close to CD quality as you will ever find. Enjoy!


vocals - Gurke
guitar - Guschtel
bass - Claus
drums - Jürgen

The I Try To Tell About A Way LP was released on X-Mist Records in 1987, on both black and white vinyl. It was recorded at Kong Studio in Reutlingen in November of '87. The LP came with a foldout lyric sheet. It was mastered by G. Pauler at Pauler Acoustics. Produced by Armin Hofmann. Great cover art by Jaenette. Never repressed as far as I know, and never released on CD.

The Hardcore Vol. 1 comp LP was released on Starving Missile Records in 1988 as a limited edition of 1,000 copies. Produced by Mike Just. Cover design (which reminds me a lot of Richard Kern's photography) by Pyhacore. Bands on the comp: Artless, EA80, Aidscats, K.G.B., Crowd Of Isolated, Boskops and Dream Police. The 2 C.O.I. tracks on this comp sound like they were from the LP sessions, as the recording is closer to the sound on the album than on the Bad Actors ep which followed.

The Life Is Change comp LP was released on Beri Beri Records in 1989. It included a 12 page booklet about the bands: EA80, The Vernon Walters, Magnetic AD, Crowd Of Isolated, H.D.Q., Putten, Billy And The Willies, Karma Sutra, The Plot and The Ex.

The Bad Actors 7" was released on X-Mist in 1988. Lyric sheet included. Recorded at Kong Studio by Heinlin. Produced by Armin Hofmann. Insane cover artwork by "Paul". 250 copies came in special self-made covers.

The band's second full-length, Memories and Scars, was released on X-Mist on LP in 1990 and on CD in 1991.

Other comps C.O.I. appeared on:

Small Bands Big Sound comp 7" (1989 Anti-Schelski Records)
tracks: Dear Old Man / Mr. Tear

Rough Enough comp 7" (1989 Vibration Hardcore)
track: In A Field Of Roses

X-Press comp LP (1990 X-Mist Records)
track: Indian Girl

Remember The '90s comp LP (1990 Gusch Records)
track: In A Field Of Roses

Laugh And Hate comp CD (1991 Rough Trade)
track: Tremendous Strength

Trust #10 flexi ep (199? Trust Vinyl)
track: No One Can Stop Us

If anyone has any of these tracks and can share them, please get in touch.

Crowd Of Isolated on Myspace.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Breakdown - 1987-1997



Massive hardcore from Yonkers, NY.

If you're even slightly into NYHC then you already have most of this stuff. I try and avoid posting stuff that's still available, but i've seen the '87 demo and Blacklisted ep on at least a dozen blogs, so i don't think including it here will make a difference. In a perfect world, if any of this stuff is still in print and you don't have it, you should buy it and this collection should only act as a convenient companion piece, not as a final product. If there's a problem just let me know and i'll revise the collection.

This is a collection of Breakdown material spanning ten years. Every track like a brick to the head. Enjoy.

Breakdown: 1987-1997

1987 lineup:
vocals - Jeff Perlin
guitar - Don Angelilli
guitar - Carl Porcaro
bass - Rich McLoughlin
drums - Anthony Drago

The
'87 demo was recorded at The Loft on May 26, 1987. Six tracks from the '87 demo were released as a 7" in 1990 on Blackout! as a combined effort with Noiseville Records. I remember seeing a double 7" of the entire demo back in the '90s as well. I'm not sure if that was a bootleg or not. In 2002 Blackout! released all 9 tracks on CD. There was also an unofficial CD release put out by Lost and Found in 1995 titled Dissed and Dismissed which included the demo along with 2 extra tracks, all remastered with new cover art. I'm pretty sure the last re-issue of the demo was the 7" put out by Dead Serious Records in 2005.

Shortly after the '87 demo was recorded, Carl, Rich and Anthony left the band due to personal differences and formed Raw Deal with Anthony Comunale (formerly of Token Entry) and Mike Sentkiewitz (formerly of Sick Of It All). Raw Deal were good, but in my opinion they never recorded anything even close to the intensity and heaviness of the Breakdown demo. One of my favorite NYHC demos ever. Total caveman shit.

1988 lineup:
vocals - Jeff Perlin
guitar - Rob DeFrosia
guitar - Richie Kennon
bass - Mark Sisto
drums - Larry Kaplan

I'm pretty sure somewhere between the '87 lineup and '88 lineup there was someone named Pete who played drums for a short time with the band. I'm also pretty sure he's credited as playing drums on the version of Sick People from the New York Hardcore: The Way It Is comp LP.

The
NYHC: Where The Wild Things Are comp LP was recorded in 1988 and released on Blackout! / Noiseville in 1989. Mastered at The Loft. Incredible comp with my personal favorite Breakdown recordings. Dissed And Dismissed in particular is a monster. The stellar lineup was Outburst, Killing Time, Life's Blood, Breakdown, Sheer Terror, Maximum Penalty, Uppercut, Norman Bates And The Showerheads and Gorilla Biscuits.New York Hardcore: The Way It Is was released by Revelation Records on LP in 1988 and on CD in 1993. Liner notes by Ray Cappo. Photography by B.J. Papas, Beth Lahickey andRichard Unhock. The bands: Bold, Nausea, Warzone, Gorilla Biscuits, Trip 6, Breakdown, Youth Of Today, Sick Of It All, Krakdown, Side By Side, YDL and Supertouch. Like many people, this comp was my exposure to Breakdown and lots of other great bands. I think Sick People floored everyone back in '88.

The
Runnin' Scared demo was recorded sometime in 1988. I have absolutely no info on this demo, and i've never owned or even seen an actual copy. I only included (and revised) the 2 tracks on the demo that were exclusive to it at that time. I had a shitty rip of the other 2 tracks to work with (All I Ask and Dissed and Dismissed), plus the comp versions are infinitely superior. I put a lot of work into these 3 tracks and i think they sound great. The song What It Is from this demo later appeared on the New Breed tape, and 2 of the tracks were re-recorded nearly 10 years later for the Blacklisted ep.

The Song Don't Give Up was taken from the
New Breed cassette. A great exclusive (at the time) track to that tape. Cleaned up nice.

1997 lineup:
vocals - Jeff Perlin
guitar - Mike Dijan
bass - Larry Susi
drums - Lou Medina

Completely different lineup again, with Jeff being the only remaining original member. With this lineup the band released the Blacklisted ep on Eyeball Records in 1997. Recorded at Mother West NYC. Mastered West West Side Music. The vinyl release contained 5 live tracks (all '87 demo songs). Great ep.

The
live tracks were recorded in 1987. I'm not sure of the date or venue, or even city for that matter. It was listed as live in CT, but i get the feeling it was a NYC gig. Great, yet pretty sloppy set. They do an instrumental version of Telltale, originally written to be a Breakdown song, but later recorded (with lyrics) by Raw Deal on their first demo.

The song We'll Be Back was taken from the live
WNYU set from 1988. This song was unreleased, although according to an online article by Christ Minicucci, Breakdown recorded this track, along with an alternate version of All I Ask, at Gian Studios on March 25, 1988. I'd love to hear those tracks! You can read that article here.

Lions and Cheetahs!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Show of Force - 1990



More great New York Hardcore. Show of Force existed for a very short time, starting in '89 and ending in '91. During that time they released three demos (one of which was never released), and one track for the New Breed cassette. Here we have an excellent sounding rip of the band's second demo. Thanks to Claude for the rip, Mike Dijan for the info and for letting me post this, and Freddy Alva for the help (once again). Enjoy.

Show of Force - 1990 demo

1989 lineup 1:
vocals - Nick Cirillo
guitar - Nick Benetos
bass - Mike Dijan
drums - Tony Kastanos

With this original lineup the band recorded the track Finding It Hard at Don Fury Studios for the New Breed tape in 1989. They later re-recorded and re-named the song Black Walls for the 1990 demo. Both Nick Cirello and Nick Benetos played for Fit of Anger, and Mike Dijan played for Breakdown, Crown of Thornz and Skarhead.

1989 lineup 2:
vocals - Randy Rodriguez
guitar - Mike Dijan
guitar - George Derico
bass - Jay Rufino
drums - Tony Kastanos

At this time Mike Dijan moved from bass to guitar, and George Derico and Jay Rufino, both from Outburst, were brought in for 2nd guitar and drums. With this lineup the band recorded a demo at Don Fury Studios, which is extremely rare.

1990 lineup:
vocals - Randy Rodriguez
guitar - Mike Dijan
guitar - Hector Moncada
bass - Franklin Rhi
drums - Tony Kastanos

For the 1990 lineup (which Mike Dijan referred to as the "definitive lineup"), Franklin Rhi (Shelter, 108, Crown of Thornz) was brought in on bass, and Hector Moncada on 2nd guitar. In the Spring on '90 the band recorded their second demo (the one available for download here) at Wildfire Studios in NJ. The demo was produced by A.J. Novello, guitarist for Leeway. Shortly after the band recruited Nick Cirillo back on vocals and recorded a third demo which was never released. The band broke up in 1991.

Interview with Mike Dijan here.


Thursday, October 14, 2010

Chisel - Early Recordings 1991-1994



Chisel were one of my favorite bands of the '90s. As much as i love the band's 2 full lengths (8am All Day and Set You Free), and the Nothing New collection, these early songs were always my favorite. I was fortunate enough to see Chisel once sometime in the early '90s at ABC No Rio. They were amazing, and everything they've ever recorded was nothing short of excellent.

This is a collection of the band's earliest recordings, most of which was recorded in 1991. I restored all the tracks to the best of my ability. I'm really happy with this one.

Chisel - Early Recordings: 1991-1994

1991 line-up:
Ted Leo - vocals/guitar
Chris Infante - bass
John Dugan - drums

Starting off the collection is possibly the rarest Chisel recordings, 5 tracks recorded at WFMU in July of 1991. I'm not sure if this is the full set, but these were all the songs on the tape i recently acquired (thanks Matt!!). After listening to this tape for the past 2 weeks, this has become possibly my favorite Chisel stuff. The live studio version of Spike (later renamed Swamp Fox/Spike) is a killer. Following are perfectly executed renditions of 4 of the band's earliest songs, ending with a track i'm not familiar with which i titled "unknown". Great sound quality, considering it was ripped from a 20 year old cassette.

Next up are 6 tracks from the Stanford Hall Demos tape. Recorded on February 2, 1991 at, you guessed it, Stanford Hall, at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The track Elusive Butterfly (originally recorded by Bob Lind in 1966) was labeled (Revenge of) The Bright Elusive Butterfly of Love on the actual cassette. There were 2 versions of this cover on the demo, but i only used the first version (in my opinion the superior version), and i also left out the closing track, a funky, and quite sucky instrumental entitled Pornomental. Thanks to the amazing South Bend Power Nineties blog for this demo. Check this blog out for other Chisel rarities, as well as tons of other great bands from the South Bend scene, which seemed to be an like an explosion of inspiration during the '90s. Hopefully the blog is OK with me abducting these tracks, and are happy with the restoration.

Next up is my all-time favorite (yet sadly least-known) Chisel song, Sloth. This track was recorded in March on '91 at Inner Ear Studios in Washington, DC (possibly during the Swamp Fox sessions?), and released in 1992 on the Superpowers compilation cassette by Troubleman Unlimited. Sloth, with it's amazing bass line by Infante, was exclusive to the Superpowers tape, as were many of the songs of the comp. The tape came with issue #4 of Wanna Communicate fanzine. The first 300 were hand-dubbed with tapes stolen from ShopRite, then 700 professionally duplicated with the profits. This is an absolutely incredible comp, with more great bands than i can name. Standouts for me, besides Chisel, were Greyhouse, Heroin, Shudder to Think (band's best recordings), Assuck, Sticks & Stones, Merel... fuck, the whole thing is fantastic.

Now we come to the band's first record. Known as the "Swamp Fox ep", the self-titled 7" was recorded at Inner Ear Studios on March 14, 1991 and released on Assembly Records in September of the same year. Thanks to my good friend Mark for an excellent job ripping my vinyl to mp3. There's a bit of surface noise on the b-side (Listen), but not anything major, and this is certainly the best sounding rip i've heard of this track so far. Anyway, great first record.

1993 line-up:
Ted Leo - vocals/guitar
Chris Norborg - bass
John Dugan - drums

The split 7" with Brian, Colin and Vince was recorded in May of 1993 at Miami Street Studio and released on Sudden Shame Records (Colin of BCV's label) in August on 1993. On this slab, Chisel covered Brian, Colin and Vince's classic Spectacles, and BCV covered Chisel's One in Ten. Chisel's version of Spectacles was played during the closing credits of the Songs for Cassavetes documentary.

Next we have the Sunburn 7" released on Gern Blandsten Records in August of 1994. Chisel are on the top of their game here, delivering three of their best. Little Gidding (my personal favorite of the 3) was recorded in October of '93 and mixed in February of '94 at WGNS Studios. 3 O'Clock High was recorded in March of '93 at Idful Music Corp, Chicago, IL. Sunburn was recorded in June of '93 at Idful Music Corp. The Sunburn 7" was later released as bonus tracks on the CD version of the Nothing New collection, put out on Gern Blandsten in 1995.

Closing the collection is an unreleased song called My First Resume, recorded live at 242 Main on April 16, 1994. Nice sound quality.

Check out the official Chisel Myspace page here.
For more info on the band, check out the band's Wiki page here.

For those who don't know, Ted Leo is now touring with his old band, the mighty Citizen's Arrest.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Life's Blood - The Don Fury Sessions 2/3/1988



I had a Life's Blood discography posted on the blog many months back, but removed the link by request due to the upcoming discography on Prank Records. Then just recently i got a CDR of the entire CBGB set from 9/25/88 courtesy of Freddy Alva of New Breed fame (thanks Freddy!). This is the infamous set with Sean Murphy of Collapse on vocals. If you've heard the tracks from the New Breed tape, you can imagine how awesome this set is. That was to be my next post, but one of the band members heard the set and decided it should be included on the discography, and kept off the blog. I'm far from being bummed about it though. I'm glad this stuff is getting a proper release as opposed to just some mp3s online, and am looking forward to this discography like no other in the past few years. Hopefully the WFMU set makes it on there as that's my favorite Life's Blood recording. We'll see.

I still wanted this great NYHC band represented on my blog. Besides being one of my favorites, i'm striving to post collections by every band (or as close as possible) that were featured on the New Breed tape. Soon there will be a New Breed post with links to all related bands.

I've seen the band's 7", radio sets, and demos on various blogs, and wanted something exclusive to Blogged & Quartered. These unreleased Don Fury sessions seemed like the perfect choice. This is a collection of a dozen tracks selected from the sessions recorded on February 3, 1988. The entire Don Fury sessions can be downloaded here, all in one mp3. The tracks here were hand-picked by myself as my favorite versions of each song. Sound quality is really good. With any luck some of this stuff will be remastered and included on the Prank discography. In any case, i see no harm in posting it here. There's not a Life's Blood fan alive who will not buy the discography because they have some mp3s of selected tracks from these sessions.

Enjoy.

Life's Blood - Unreleased Don Fury Sessions 2/3/88

The following info is taken from my past Life's Blood post, which is now deleted.

Jason O'Toole - vocals
Adam Nathanson - guitar
Neil Burke - bass
John Kriksciun - drums

Defiance 7" - 1988 Combined Effort Records, unknown pressing. Reissued by Vermiform in 1990. 4166 made, 4 pressings.
New York City Hardcore: Where The Wild Things Are Compilation LP - 1989 Blackout Records, unknown pressing.
Life's Blood/Sticks & Stones split 7" - 1990 Radcore/Forefront Records. Limited edition of 2000. Comes with lyric sheet. All songs recorded live on WFMU on 03/17/88.
Murders Among Us Compilation 7" - 1990 Vermiform / Combined Effort Records. 2500 made.
New Breed Compilation cassette - 1989 Urban Style Records. Cassette & fanzine, 1000 made (and many bootlegs in the 90's). Two live tracks. Sean Murphy (Collapse) on vocals.
Demo - 1988
Don Fury Session - 02/03/88
Live on WFMU - 03/17/88
Live on WNYU - 03/24/88

from wiki:

Life's Blood was a hardcore punk band formed by four first year college students in New York City in 1987. It consisted of Adam Nathanson on guitars, Neil Burke on bass, John Kriksciun on drums, and on vocals, Combined Effort promoter and fanzine editor Jason O'Toole. They were part of the scene that grew out of CBGB's Sunday matinees and the long defunct Some Records store, where they all hung out. Known for their sound which blended East Coast hardcore-punk with melodic Oi!, as well as their biting, intelligent lyrics, Life's Blood performed with bands as diverse as Agnostic Front, Sheer Terror, Beyond, Judge, Project X, and Soulside before breaking up little more than a year later. Nathanson would go on to form Born Against out of its ashes with Sam McPheeters on vocals. Burke would go on to many bands, including Born Against, Sinking Body and Men's Recovery Project. Life's Blood played live on WNYU and WFMU, and played 26 shows throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Ohio. Their songs have been covered live and on recordings by bands from as far flung as Sweden and Japan as well as by American hardcore bands. One notable cover being the version of "It's not in your heart" by MK-ULTRA. Among Life's Blood's recordings are Defiance originally on Combined Effort, the Vermiform Records compilation EP Murders Among Us, the New York Hardcore compilation Where the Wild Things Are on Blackout Records as well as a rash of bootlegs. Vermiform released a CD containing the original "Defiance" ep along with extra material. Prank Records now has the rights to Life's Blood recordings and a re-release of this hard to find material is forthcoming.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Assück - The Audio Death Collection 1989-1998 (revised 8/08/10)



Grindcore perfection from St. Petersburg, Florida. This is as good as it gets. Assück created an effortless blending of hardcore punk and grindcore/death metal, in a way i'd never heard before or since. The band's first full length LP, Anticapital, is my favorite recording in the genre, only after the early Napalm Death Peel Sessions.

This is a collection of 7"s, compilation tracks, demos and live tracks, most of which are not on the band's 2 CD releases. Excellent sound throughout. Enjoy.

Assück: The Audio Death Collection

1996 line-up:
Steve Heritage - guitar
/ vocals
Rob Proctor - drums
Steve Kosiba - bass


The song "Alabaster" is the last song the band released. It was featured on the 403 Chaos Comp: Florida Fucking Hardcore CD in 1998 on Schematics Records (Steve Heritage's label). The comp was a collection of hardcore/punk bands that have played at 403 Chaos in Tampa, FL. The CD was packaged as a ten-inch, filled with lyrics, fliers, and contributions from the zines In Abandon and Haili. Tracks (mostly exclusive) by Reversal of Man, Tomorrow, Assuck, Strikeforce Diablo, Hot Water Music, Combat Wounded Veteran, Cavity, Omega Man, Nineteen Hundred and Twelve, Early Grace, Discount, Dragbody, Twelve Hour Turn, Cease, Hankshaw, Bird of Ill Omen, I Hate Myself, Scrotum Grinder, and Jud Jud.
"Alabaster" was also on the Can't Stop This Train comp CD in 1999 on Join The Team Player Records. The song was recorded sometime after the Misery Index sessions at Morrisound Studios. The Misery Index LP was released in 1997 on Sound Pollution Records. Jason Crittenden replaced Steve on bass after the LP was recorded, and did a couple of tours with the band.

The song "Corners" was featured on the Big Pants Waste Precious Fabric comp CD, released in 1995 on No Idea Records. The CD (mastered by Steve Heritage) was included with No Idea Fanzine issue 11. 10,000 were pressed. Paul Pavlovich is on the vocals for this version of the song, and Steve Kosiba played bass. "Corners" was re-recorded for the Misery Index LP a year later.

Big Pants Waste Precious Fabric was an excellent compilation, and a great document of all the different sounds that were going on in the punk scene during the early-mid '90s. From Assfactor 4 to Rain Like The Sound Of Trains, from Drop Dead to J Church. And everything in between.

1992 line-up:
Paul Pavlovich - vocals
Steve Heritage - guitar
Rob Proctor - drums
Pete Jay - bass

The Bloodless Unreality comp 7" was released in 1992 on Forfeit Records (Forfeit 01). Artwork by Paul Pavlovich and layouts by Steve Heritage. Mastered at Fullersound. The sleeve came as an 8 page booklet with lyrics and info on the featured bands. All great tracks by Destroy, Hellnation, Confrontation and Assück. "Procession", from the Anticapital LP, was remixed for this comp with a bass track added in. "Blindspot" was on the Blindspot 7", originally released on Open Records in 1992, and re-released by Schematics Records that same year, and by Sound Pollution in 1993 as a limited European tour edition. The Blindspot 7" was the band's first record with a bass player (Pete Jay). It was recorded in June/July of '92 at Morrisound Studios in Tampa. FL, and mastered at Fullersound. Great artwork again by Paul Pavlovich. Produced and engineered by Scott Burns. An incredible 7" with a sound that perfectly bridges the gap between Anticapital and Misery Index.

The Apocalyptic Convulsions comp 10" was released in 1992 on Ax/ction Records. Limited to 1500 copies (500 came with bonus 7"), the comp included a poster insert with liner notes contributed by each of the bands. Amazing cover art by Morbid Mark. The 2 Assück tracks from this comp, "Anticapital" and "Spiritual Manipulation" were both previously on the Anticapital LP. I'm not sure if these 2 tracks were re-recorded, or if Pete Jay just added bass tracks to the original LP recordings. Check out the Infest post for further info on this (mostly) great comp.

1989-1991 line-up:
Paul Pavlovich - vocals
Steve Heritage - guitar
Rob Proctor - drums

The State To State 7" was released in 1992 on SOA Records. With the exception of a spoken-word piece called "A Nation's Tear" (spoken by Dawn Wilson, and early roadie for the band), all tracks had previously been released on the Anticapital LP. These songs were recorded September 16-19, 1991 at Morrisound, Tampa, FL. Released in 1991 on Sound Pollution Records on blue and black vinyl. Engineered by Scott Burns and produced by Rob Proctor and Steve Heritage. Anticapital was re-released by Sound Pollution in 1994 on CD, along with the tracks from the Blindspot 7", the 2 tracks from the split 7" with O.L.D. (1991 No System Records), and the track from Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! (1991 Slap A Ham).

Even though these tracks are on the Anticapital LP/CD, i decided to include them here for 2 reasons. First, the sound is much fuller than on the album. It's ripped from the Old Days Nostalgia 3xCD (SOA Records). And second, these 4 tracks just flow perfectly together, it's the perfect ep.

The Necro Salvation 7" was recorded in 1989 at Morrisound, and released in 1990 on Rigid Records. Engineered by Scott Burns, produced byAssück. Original pressing was black and white sleeve with green vinyl. Later repressed on No System Records with different cover art. Some versions came in a 10" sleeve, not sure which label or pressing though. I've come to love this ep over the years. Less political than the later records, this one is lyrically more sex and Satan. Juvenile, but with tongue planted firmly in cheek, with a few moments of greatness, and little hints as to what was to come. This is a really nice sounding rip. Best i've heard yet.

Next up is the band recorded live on January 10, 1990 at a sports bar called Body Talk in N. Pinellas Park in Florida opening for a band called Meatwagon. Roughly 25 songs, really good quality. Sounded like a fun show.

Ending out the collection is a nice treat. The hard to find, entire 17-song "Born Backwards" 1989 demo. This is a nice, loud and clean sounding rip (320). Best you'll hear. I didn't remove any of the tape hiss as i didn't want to mess with the sound, but aside from a few tracks (like the first one), it's hardly even noticeable. The wall of noise music actually covers up 90% of the hiss.


It's mind-blowing how much this band progressed both musically and lyrically in one year.

From the Discog site:
Final line-up:
Rob Proctor - Drums (Crucible, Anthem Eighty Eight, No Fraud, Manic Dose, Nasty Savage, Cease, Discordance Axis)
Jason Crittenden - Bass (ex-Reversal of Man, Early Grace, Anthem Eighty Eight, Frogg Pound)
Steve Heritage - Guitar, Vocals (ex- Jud-Jud, Bombs of Death, Anthem Eighty Eight, People's Court)

Past line-up:
Paul Pavlovich - Vocals (currently in Track the Curse)
Dave "Spinach" Malinski - Vocals/Roadie
Austin Farrell - Roadie/Tour Manager
Daryl Kahan - Vocals "1993/1994 European tour" (ex-Citizens Arrest, Abazagorath, Funebrarum, Forced Expression, Taste of Fear)
Pete Jay - Bass (ex-Meatwagon, No Fraud, Manic Dose, Peepole, Black Queen, currently in Oakhelm)
Steve Kosiba - Bass (ex-Inhumanity, Scrotum Grinder)

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Hogan's Heroes - 1985-1995 2xCD


 
Hogan's Heroes Volume 1

Skip Hoefling - vocals
George Barberio - guitar
John Cuccinello - bass
Tony Scandiffio - drums

"Built To Last" LP

Excellent debut from this NJ (Tom's River) hardcore band. Recorded in 1987 at Waterfront Studios and first released in May of 1988 on Straight-Ahead Records. The LP was re-released worldwide on LP and cassette in May of 1989 on New Red Archives. The LP was mostly a collection of re-recordings from the band's 1986 demos, and really (for me anyway), just a hint of the greatness that was to follow.

"Hogan's Heroes" LP

My personal favorite Hogan's Heroes material, and just one of my favorite hardcore albums in general. They up the energy and intensity level on these tracks and produce some vicious music, hardcore with elements of black metal (especially on the opening track "First") and reggae (most of side 2). Standout track would be the furious "Breaking Your Rules". For this song i used the version from the Hardcore Breakout USA CD for superior sound quality.

The self-titled LP was recorded in August of 1989 at S & Saatchi Studios in NYC and released on New Red Archives in 1990. Two of the tracks, "Soulsight" and "Kick It In" were originally recorded for a 7" on Straight-Ahead Records titled "New Jersey", but was never released.

Hardcore Breakout USA comp LP

Released September 5, 1990 on New Red Archives on LP, CD and cassette. The comp featured 3 Hogan's Heroes tracks, "Last Will" from the "Built To Last" LP, "Breaking Your Rules" from the 1990 LP, and one exclusive track called "Full On". Hardcore Breakout USA was re-released in 1995 on J!mco Records Japan with a new title, "Snowboard Addiction", and new artwork. Other bands on the comp were Ultraman, Jawbreaker, Samiam, Bedlam Hour, Crucial Youth, Kraut, G-Whizz, Dirge, Agitators, UK Subs and P.E.D.

101/3 Fists And A Mouthful CD

Released in 1995 on New Red Archives. Six of the tracks were recorded in August of 1991 at Ocean Gate Studios. Guitarist George Barberino played both guitar and drums for these tracks, as well as bass for 4 of them. There are a couple of re-recordings of 1985-86 demo tracks, and some killer, and (until '95) unreleased songs. Some of the band's most aggressive and heaviest material, and my favorite recordings after the self-titled 1990 LP. The other 5 tracks (not included here) were recorded between 1994 and 1995 at Sonic Edge Studios in Manhattan, and Excello Studios in Brooklyn. These songs were recorded with a mostly new line-up, and the music went in a much more rock direction.

Hardcore Breakout USA Vol. 2 comp LP

Released in 1995 on New Red Archives. Two excellent exclusive tracks, "Cold" and "Fill It Up", a re-recording of an old 1986 demo track with George playing guitar, bass and drums. I'm guessing this track was recorded during the "Fists And A Mouthful" 1991 sessions. Hardcore Breakout USA Vol. 2 featured many of the bands from the first comp as well as tracks by MDC, Reagan Youth, No Use For A Name, Christ On A Crutch, and many more.

Many of the tracks in this Hogan's Heroes collection went on to appear on various compilations. "Last Will" and "Breaking Your Rules" were on the "Radio Sampler" comp (1990 New Red Archives). "Corporate Life" and "Self Defense" were on "The Punk, The Bad, And The Ugly" comp (1997 Cleopatra Records). "Corporate Life" was also on the "At War With Society" comp (1998 New Red Archives), the "Mighty Attack" comp (1999 Flavor Records Japan), and "A Triple Dose of Punk" 3xCD (2000 Cleopatra), which included all 24 tracks from "The Punk, The Bad, And The Ugly".

Hogan's Heroes Volume 2

1986 Demos

Known as the "Straight*Proud" demo. Released on November 15, 1986, shortly after the new vocalist and drummer joined the band. This is the entire 13 song demo, nicely restored.

1985 Demos

Scott Cassidy - vocals
George Barberio - guitar
Gerry Daseking - bass
Matt Gunvordahl - drums
John Cuccinello - bass on "T.S.A." (track 23)

The first 9 tracks were recorded in December of 1985. The last track, T.S.A. (Terry Schaefer's Ass) was recorded in June, '85. The songs "Self Defense" and "Batman" were featured on the "Blastin' Out Of New Jersey" comp in 1986 courtesy of Faith Zine. All tracks cleaned. The quality on the first track is a bit rough, but it gets better.

Uncle Ben 7"

Skip Hoefling - vocals
Ian Smith - guitar
John Cuccinello - bass
Brian Strahle - drums

Released in 1995 on Mofo Records.

Sorry, that's all the info i have on the demos and the "Uncle Ben" ep. Any further info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to Michael, Moe, David, Tommy (Social Decay), Dan (Old, Fast & Loud), and anyone i may have forgot for helping out with the music.

Enjoy.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Psycho Squatt - Anthology 1988-1990



Incredible and unique punk from Dijon, France. The "Liberté, Précarité, Fraternité" 2x7" was one of my most-played records during the early '90s. I just recently re-discovered this amazing band after getting a rip of the band's live demo (thanks Mickael!), and it's pretty much all i've been listening to for weeks now.

This is a collection of most of the band's recordings spanning 1988-1990. The 4-song "Liberté, Précarité, Fraternité" double ep released in 1989 on Maloka (Anarcho Punk Collective), six tracks from the "Lutin De Vie" live demo, recorded in December of 1988, and the band's two rare comp tracks - one track from the "Mentally Broken Vol. 3" tape, released in 1989 on Broken Tapes Productions, and one track from "The Control of Violence" comp tape released on Violence in 1990. The only songs not included (unfortunately) are the demo tracks that are also on the band's 2x7".

Rudy - guitar
Looping - guitar
Mul - bass
L.N. - vocals
Steph - vocals
David - sax
Fred - drums


Maloka released these tracks on CD a while back, but it's long out of print. I got the files from the Maloka site (which are in .ogg files) here, cleaned up the hiss on the demo and comp tracks, adjusted the levels so all the tracks are the same volume, and converted the files to mp3s. Excellent sound, excellent songs. This gets my absolute highest recommendation. Trust me and just download it. Enjoy.

Psycho Squatt collection

I have no further info on this band, aside from at least one member now plays in a band called Anarkrose, who perform some Psycho Squatt songs live (check out the band's Myspace page for footage). If anyone has any info to share, please leave a comment. Thanks.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

A Tribute to Sid Sludge



Sometime during my first year at art school in Dover, NJ (maybe around 1989 or so), one of my roommates told me his friend Sid was coming over to the building we all lived in for a visit. It turned out to be Sid Sludge from my hometown heroes Mental Abuse. He was the nicest guy ever, and funny as shit. When he left, my buddy asked him where he was parked. Turned out his car broke down in the middle of the Lincoln Tunnel, so he just left it there, walked out of the tunnel, and jumped on a bus. That sealed it for me. This guy was the epitome of punk. I hope he's still out there somewhere, doing crazy shit. I've heard rumors of his death for years, hopefully it's not true. Anyway, here's the collection. Enjoy.

A Tribute to Sid Sludge


Every Thursday night back in the late '80s, Pat Duncan would play at least one Mental Abuse song on his radio show on WFMU. It was always from a live set recorded at CBGB in 1985. Years later i was able to get a copy of the Streets of Filth LP, which was a great album but paled in comparison to the energy of the live versions of the songs i would hear on Pat's show. Sometime during the mid '90s, i was lucky enough to get a copy of the entire live CBGB set, which i still listen to, and think is one of the best live hardcore sets i've ever heard. It's rare that a live set is better than the band's records, but in this case it's a definite. They just nailed it on this one. Every song is perfectly executed, and the music is faster and much more intense than on the LP. I've included the set in it's entirety here (the first 11 tracks of this collection), hopefully you enjoy it as much as i do. For me it's essential listening.

Mental Abuse info i found online, i'm not sure how accurate it is:

Sid Sludge - vocals
Dave Jones - drums
Andy Kelb - guitars
Mike Lucas - bass
Paul Dieter - guitars

Mental Abuse were founded in August of 1982. Sid and Paul started the band, then Dave (who is the ex-Agnostic Front drummer) joined them. They went through 4 guitarists and shortly after that they broke up - from August 83’ to November 83’. They then reformed with Andy on guitar (the lineup now incuded Mike Porath “Spike” on bass). Spike recorded with M.A. on the “Streets Of Filth” LP, then decided to split, and was replaced by Mike (since has passed away).

Paul (guitar) switched to bass, Dave also left the band, and was replaced by Billy Psycho (from the NY band The Psychos with Billy Milano M.O.D. - S.O.D., etc.).

Some of the places M.A. played included: A7, The Loft, Delmonties, Anthrax, Pogo’s, The Showplace, The Dirt Club, CBGB’s, party’s, party’s, and High School “Battle Of The Bands”.The Danceteria (NY), Club Hell, and opened for C.O.C. in someone’s basement in Poughkeepsie, NY…

Aside from their “Streets Of Filth” LP (Urinal Records), Mental Abuse had tracks on the “Message To America” comp (Urinal Records).

I can't find any info on
Outgroup online. They used to have a website but it was taken down a while back. I'm pretty sure the band (during the 1983 sessions) was the same lineup as Mental Abuse. Sid sang one of the band's 3 demos, the "Bleecker Street Studio Demos", recorded in the Fall of 1983 (while Mental Abuse was disbanded). Included here is the entire 21 song demo, taken from the "Out Completely" CDR, which also includes the band's other demos without Sid. This demo is full of raw, fast (and about as un-PC as you can get) punk rock anthems. The song Get Away is a NJ classic, covered by many bands, including Outgroup-related bands like Mental Abuse and Clenched Fist. Also on this demo you'll hear early versions of Mental Abuse songs and the blueprints for songs they would revise and record years later for the Streets of Filth album.

If anyone has any info on Outgroup, or any Sid Sludge stories to share, please leave a comment.

I had a Mental Abuse collection on the blog about a year ago and was asked to remove it (still not sure from who). There should be no problems this time, as i'm not posting anything that was officially released, like the LP or comp tracks. And i'm pretty sure the Outgroup CDR is impossible to find since the website was removed, so everything should be OK. And after all, it's just good old, long out of print, '80s NJ punk rock. Let the fans enjoy it.

Thanks to Cade Perrin for the great Sid Sludge pic.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Close Call - The 1989 Demos



CLOSE CALL - The 1989 Demos
Text by
by Michael Scondotto:

Marc Nolan - vocals
Mike Scondotto - bass
Tom Trippi - guitars
John LaMacchia - guitars
Wayne Schneiderman - drums

Discography:
CLOSE CALL - "On The Line" demo recorded on March
3, 1989 @ Don Fury's NYC
CLOSE CALL "Self titled" demo recorded in June 1989 @ Don Fury's NYC

About the recordings:
Both demos were done @ the legendary Don Fury studio in NYC and were done 100% live with no overdubs. Some of the songs sound a bit out of tune, and they probably were... but hey, we were 15 to 17 and had never done this before.

Although the drummer on the 2nd demo is listed as "James", the drums were indeed done by our first drummer Wayne. For the record, "James" is James Loud, drummer for the short lived NEW BREED COMP band from Brooklyn - DIRECT APPROACH. James did replace Wayne, but never actually recorded with the band.

Close Call shows list:
1. WNYU's Crucial Chaos 5/18/89
2. Backyard party in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn NY 6/10/89
3. L'amour - Brooklyn, NY with MR. PICKLE, AMERICAN EAGLE and 7 more bands 8/27/89
4. L'amour - Brooklyn, NY with KILLING TIME & FIT OF ANGER 9/17/89

Close Call History: by Michael Scondotto

Close Call was a Hardcore band from Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn NY and my very first band. We started in fall of 1988 and broke up in January of 1990.

The band was initially formed by myself on bass and my friend since grade school, Tom Trippi on guitar. I do not remember who came up with the name Close Call, but it was either me or Tom. We were both 15 years old and were really into bands like Breakdown, Raw Deal, Token Entry, YDL and Leeway...hell, we liked every HC band we had heard at that point and were influenced by all of them. Our collective best friend John LaMacchia ( whom I knew since kindergarten and we are still friends to this day) was a bit reluctant to make the switch from being a Metalhead to a HC kid, but John was the best musician of the three of us and he eventually came around. John wanted to play metal and if you listen, there is quite a bit of metal in the band for sure. Vocalist Marc and drummer Wayne were 2 years older than the rest of us and went to high school together. Marc was one of the guys that got us all into Hardcore and took us to CBGB's (Marc can be seen as the skinhead kid in the YDL ringer shirt on the cover of the "Where the Wild Things Are" comp by the way) and Wayne was a Rush fanatic and awesome drummer who s
omehow Marc got to play with a bunch of Hardcore kids. Wayne was also the only Close Call band member who did not skateboard. Without skateboarding, Close Call would never have happened since that was what really brought us all together. The five of us lived within a five block radius of each other in Sheepshead Bay.Close Call was one of the few Hardcore bands from Brooklyn at the time (88-89), along with bands like Mr. Pickle & Social Disorder. Then you had bigger bands like Y.D.L. and Biohazard and of course Carnivore. We were all about the NYC bands who played CBGB's and we desperately wanted to be just like those bands and hopefully play shows with them. But we never really got to, mainly due to the fact that back then we knew no one outside of our circle of Brooklyn friends and we were young and really naive. We didn't network at all, just hung out and had fun.

The first demo was called "On The Line", named after the instrumental on the demo. The second demo was self titled. I'm going to say that we made about 30 copies of the first demo and about 60 of the second, but I bet it is less for both.

Some copies of the demos were mailed out to zines though, that I remember for sure. The artwork for the demos was done by John, very influenced by both graffiti and comic artist Vaughn Bode. We all actually wrote graffiti, some better than others for sure. The cassettes were all copied on the home stereos of myself and the rest of the band.

The one band I think we sounded a lot like was Token Entry, especially in the vocals department and we also had a lot of guitar leads just like Token Entry did. The Breakdown and Raw Deal demos, the Sick of It All, Side By Side and Gorilla Biscuits 7"'s and Leeway's "Born to Expire" were in heavy rotation for sure.

Close Call had a lot of band practices, sometimes twice a week. Our last studio of choice was called Counterpoi
nt Studios in Marine Park Brooklyn. It was owned by Sal Asbrucato, who went on to be Type O Negative and Life of Agony. Sal was hilarious back then & always gave us a great sound.

Close Call did a total of 4 shows which are as follows: a WNYU Crucial Chaos set, a backyard party, and 2 gigs at L'amour. One of the L'amour shows was with Fit Of Anger and Killing Time. I'll never forget after the show with KT, Anthony Communale coming up to us afterwards and handing us money out of his pocket because he heard we didn't get paid. I relayed the story to him once or twice over the years and he got a kick out of it, but we never forgot how cool that was.

Towards the end of 1989 things kind of fell apart and the band officially broke up in January of 1990 via a series of phone calls. John, Tom and Wayne went on to form a new Hardcore band called Patterns with our friend Les on vocals, and I went on to the band Confusion by the fall of 1990. We all remained friends and hung out with each other though and Patterns and Confusion did plenty of shows together, so there was never any animosity at all.

What are the members of Close Call doing now in 2010? Since 1995, I have been the lead singer for the NYHC band Inhuman. John and Wayne are again playing together in a great band called
A Family Plot. Tom is living in Florida and still plays guitar and Marc is living in Brooklyn. Is there a chance of a Close Call show in the near future? I never like to say never, but who knows...

I want to say thank you to Vinnie of Blogged & Quartered.
I want to say thank you and hello to John, Wayne,Tom and Marc.
And I w
ant to thank YOU for reading this.
I hope you enjoy this small piece of NYHC h
istory.

I was pretty excited when Mike sent me these demos. Late '80s NYHC that i'd never heard before, always a beautiful thing. Needless to say these demos kick serious ass. I wish i c
ould have done a better job with the sound quality, but i did the best i could transferring the tapes to mp3s and digging the songs out from under the tape hiss. Regardless, these are songs that need to be heard. Hopefully everyone enjoys it as much as i do.

The s/t demo (tracks 1-9) are in the exact order that they appeared on the demo tape. The "On the Line" demo was changed up a bit, the tracks with the worst sound quality being at the end.

A huge thank you to Mike Scondotto for the music.

Enjoy!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Bad Trip - 1988-1992 anthology



Great hardcore punk from Queens. This is everything the band recorded between 1988 and 1992. They released 2 more records after 1992, but the band went in a more indie rock direction with those releases, and i wanted to keep this as a document of the band's hardcore material, as well as keep it under 80 minutes. Great sound throughout. Thanks to Mike Fairley, Andy (Mortville Records), Brian Meehan, Dirty Steve and Rick Smith for helping out with music, scans and info. Enjoy.

Bad Trip: 1988-1992 anthology

Fred Muench - vocals
Marcos Siega - guitar
Luke Montgomery - guitar
Brendan White - bass
Erik Matheu - drums

Tracks 1-7: Positively Bad 7". Recorded at Don Fury Studios in January of 1989 and released the same year on Bell Bottom Records. Repressed in 1990 on Wreck-Age Records. Excellent debut. The tracks here were taken from the CD version of the Fear and Loathing LP, where they appeared as bonus tracks.

Track 8: Chop Chop comp 7". Released in July of '89 on Skene Records. Other bands on the comp were Constant Grief, Payback, Vicious Bite (formerly Under Pressure), and the great AbombAnation. 1,000 made, lyric booklet included.

Track 9: New Breed comp tape. Yet another band (that makes 15 for this blog) that was on the legendary cassette put out in 1989 by Urban Style Records aka Freddy Alva and Chaka Malik (Burn). Of the 3 different recordings of this track in this collection, this is by far my favorite.

Tracks 10-11: Look At All The Children Now comp LP. These 2 killer tracks were recorded at Don Fury Studios in November of '89 and released by Evacuate Records in 1990. This was the first release by the short lived Evacuate Records, and a great document of the more "alternative" (for lack of a better term) side of the NYHC scene closing out the '80s. Bad Trip starts off this comp, and are followed by SFA, Moondog, GO!, Yuppicide, Bustin' Out, Citizens Arrest, Bugout Society, World Discrimination, Team Effort, Rorschach, Product 19 and MAS. Besides a few lackluster tracks, this is a great compilation. Citizens Arrest steals the show (of course) with Won't Allow and the monstrous Death Threat. The album came with a 16 page booklet containing lyrics and other info. The other 2 Evacuate releases were the Yuppicide 7", and the Inflatable Children 12", both also released in 1990.

Tracks 12-13: GO!/Bad Trip split 7". Also known as the "Split Tour ep", released in September of 1990 on Skene Records. Two more great tracks, including an extended version of the song Fading Away (from the Positively Bad 7"), with a nice 2-minute Black Sabbath medley finishing off the song.

Tracks 14-23: Fear And Loathing LP. Recorded by Don Fury (who also produced, engineered and mixed the album) during August-November of 1991. Released in 1992 on Wreck-Age Records on both LP and CD. The CD also contained the first ep and the song No Easy Answers from the Look At All The Children Now comp as bonus tracks. LP tracks here taken from CD version. A bit more metallic sounding than the band's previous recordings, but i love this album.

Tracks 24-30: Demo. Recorded at Don Fury Studios in January of 1988. These songs were recorded before Marcos joined the band, so there's only one guitar player on these tracks. Some great exclusive tracks on here like Faces Go By (my personal fave), Trip To Nowhere and Joe Cool. Sound is a bit rough on these recordings, but it sounds great to me. Solid, raw, late '80s NYHC demo. Can't ask for more.

Between 1993 and 1995, the band recorded 2 more records. The Elevator 7" (1993 Wreck-Age), which i like a lot, and the Buzzy LP (1995 Wreck-Age). Both records recorded at Don Fury Studios. During this time, Luke was replaced on guitar by Arty Shepherd.

Buzzy was dedicated to the memory of Herb "Buzzy" Meier and Hank Matheu. It seems to be a "love it or hate it" album. I haven't heard it enough times to form a solid opinion, but i'd say check it out yourself. It should be pretty easy to find online.

Bad Trip have recently reformed and are playing shows again. You can check out the band's Myspace page here.

After Bad Trip, guitarist Marcos Siega went on to direct music videos, and from there went on to direct various Hollywood movies etc. He even directed 9 episodes of Dexter!! Check his IMDB page here.

Jordin Isip, who did much of the band's artwork, went on to become a well-known illustrator who's work regularly appears in the Village Voice, and even Time magazine. You should check out his amazing website right here.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Release - 1988-1991 Discography



Late '80s straight edge hardcore from NJ. This is a collection of everything the band released between 1988-1991, aside from one song exclusive to a comp known as the Inner Journey Sampler Tape (which seems impossible to find). Great sound throughout. Enjoy.

Release: 1988-1991

Original lineup:
Rob Fish - vocals
Joe Coia - guitar
Chris Zusi - guitar
Greg Shafer - bass
Chris "Cap" Caponegro - drums

The band's demo was recorded during the winter of 1988. Great raw hardcore, with some catchy riffs (Drug Free Youth and Set You Straight come to mind right away), fronted by a young Rob Fish, later of 108, Ressurection, and Judas Factor, who couldn't have been much more than fourteen years old during these demos. As usual, the demo is my favorite Release recordings. I've always been a demo guy. It just seems like a band's initial burst of inspiration put onto tape always feels so "real" for lack of a better term. Once they hit the studio and try and get everything perfect, there's a certain charm that's usually missing. That's not a blanket statement by any means, and Release's records are pretty damn good. The demo here sounds great compared to other versions i've heard. No tape hiss, nice full sound, and the bass is more prominent in the mix. The first track sounds a bit rough, but after that it's a really good rip.

"The Pain Inside" 7" was recorded April 15 and 16, 1989 and released in July of '89 on Axtion Packed Records (the label's 2nd release). It was mixed and mastered at Audio Plus. Layout and art by Kyle Talbott (who's artwork you may recognize from other late '80s East Coast hardcore bands). 1,000 copies of the 7" were pressed onto black vinyl, all hand numbered on the inner white sleeve. Two demo tracks, Drug Free Youth and Greed were re-recorded for the ep, as well as three new songs and an intro. The recordings here (as well as the split ep and No Longer ep) were taken from the "Shelter" CD on Lost & Found Records. Great sound quality.

The split 7" with Courage, also known as the "Bring It Back" 7", was released on Threshold Records in 1990. 1,000 on black vinyl, 50 with dark brown cover, the rest with black and white cover. The 2 tracks on the split are a bit longer and more complex than the earlier material, and you can hear the band going into a more metal direction while not exactly veering
off into crossover territory. Think more later Uppercut than Leeway.

The "No Longer 1988-1990" 7" was released in 1991 on Inner Journey Records. The record came with a lyric sheet and flyer, and was pressed on black,
gold & red vinyl. All came in multi-fold 2-color semi-gloss covers. The red vinyl had a hand-stamp on the dust sleeve or inside cover that said something about 'European press' even though it was pressed in the USA on Inner Journey. The test presses had generic typeset covers that just said 'Release - No Longer' test press with the Inner Journey logo and song info. The test presses had 'United Record Pressing' white labels, and were on black vinyl. There were also special "Wolverine" editions on black vinyl with different covers and Marvel cards inside. The ep was later repressed with a different cover on Noode Records. Thanks to Dave Brown for the pressing info.
The unreleased live track was pulled from a show in Harrisburg, PA. Not the greatest quality, but i did my best to extract the song from a wall of static. It's a great song. Before the song the band introduces Dale as the new bass player (later to play guitar). I'm pretty sure Dale didn't join until after all the recordings in this collection were recorded.

Rob Fish on Release:

Well, Release started with members including me (Rob), Chris Cap, Greg Shafer and Joe Coia.
After being together for about two months, we started playing out and got ourselves a second guitarist (Chris Zusi). We released a demo in the winter of 1988, started playing out a lot in February of 1989. We then got a 7" offer from Axtion Packed, recorded for it and that record was released in July of 1989. We did a short two week tour all over, came back, practiced a lot, recorded a new 7 song tape, 5 songs went to a new 7" on Inner Journey, 2 songs went to a split 7" we did with Courage. Greg got kicked out and we brought this kid named Tony in on bass. After awhile Tony got moved up to guitar and Greg came back on bass. Now that Courage has broken up, Chris has left and we've added Dale on guitar. We're now working on some new songs, trying to get tight and I'm starting to book shows now. Hopefully we'll do a full length record.

You can check out the entire interview on the Double Cross web-zine here, as well as other Release interviews and lots of great photos.

You c
an also check out the band's Myspace page here. It hasn't been updated in nearly three years, but there's some nice pics and artwork on there worth checking out. Seems there was word back then of a possible Release discography, which i'm guessing has long been dropped.

Rob Fish, as already mentioned, also played in 108, Ressurection and Judas Factor. Chris Zusi also played in Ressurection and Judas Factor, as well as Floorpunch. Chris Cap also played in Up Fr
ont and Courage.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Fit Of Anger - 1988-2000



Fit of Anger were a late '80s NYHC band that played heavy, ominous sounding hardcore that, to me, sounded like a darker version of Breakdown. This is a collection of 26 tracks, all restored, taken from five different recording sessions. Enjoy

Fit of Anger: 1988-2000

1988 lineup:
Nick (Grampa) - vocals
Chris Benetos - bass
Al Koos - guitar
Todd Lung - drums

With the original lineup, the band recorded their massive sounding first demo, and the 2 tracks for Freddy Alva's New Breed tape compilation. The New Breed tracks (The Oppressed and Revealing the Truth) were recorded at Monkey Hill Studios in College Point, NY on 8/27/88. Shortly after that they added a second guitar player, Nick Benetos. They played lots of shows with this lineup, with just about every '88 NYHC band you could think of. In 1989 Chris Benetos left the band and was replaced by the band's long time friend, John Boles.

1989-1991 lineup:
Nick (Grampa) - vocals
John Boles - bass
Al Koos - guitar
Nick Benetos - guitar
Todd Lung - drums

The WFMU set was recorded in January of 1989. The set here is unfortunately missing one track (the mp3 i had was cut off mid-song), an unreleased song called Changing Our Time. Also, the set in this collection is strictly the music, no banter. It was nearly impossible to find the actual songs under the wall of static and hiss i had to work with, never mind any dialogue. I'm happy with the way it came out though. It's raw and rough and heavy as shit. Some amazing bass playing on these recordings.

The band recorded another demo in 1991 which i've never heard. From what i've read it's more metallic and less heavy than the '88 demo, and sure as hell hard to find. After the second demo, Todd left and was replaced by drummer after drummer, none of which seemed to fit the band. Then Al split and the band was pretty much over by 1992.

In 1996, bass player John Boles passed away. Nick, Grampa and Chris got back together along with Vinnie (NRSV/Warzone) on drums to play a benefit show for his family. In 1998 another friend from the NY scene passed away and once again Fit of Anger got back together to play a benefit. After the show Greg from New Found Hope records who had been a longtime fan asked the band to record a full-length. Nick, Grampa and Chris hooked up with drummer Dimroc (COT, Skarhead, Stillsuit, Cold Front,Yuppicide). Each member picked their favorite tracks and went into the studio to record an album for New Found Hope Records in the US and on KingFisher in Europe. The CD, released in 2000, contained 8 newly recorded tracks of songs from both demos.


1996 lineup:
Nick (Grampa) - vocals
Chris Benetos - bass
Nick Benetos - guitar
Vinnie Verga - drums


1998 lineup:

Nick (Grampa) - vocals
Chris Benetos - bass
Nick Benetos - guitar
Dimroc - drums


All info taken from the band's official website (which hasen't been revised since early 2001).

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Life's Halt - 1997-2003 Discography (revised)



Here's another collection i've wanted to revise for some time now, especially since some people (including a member of the band) were nice enough to help me compile all this music. Unfortunately it was at a time before i had the capabilities to improve on the sound, and the end result was a mess. This extensive collection of some of the best hardcore songs of the late '90s/early '00s deserves better treatment, so i spent the last week trying to do it justice. I cleaned up all the recordings that were ripped from vinyl or cassette as best as possible, and adjusted the levels so all the songs are at roughly the same volume. It was worth the effort as this CD now sounds cohesive, and all the tracks have a loud, full, and clean sound.

Life's Halt formed in the late '90s in Southern California. Their debut 7", We Sold Our Souls For Hardcore was without a doubt the best thing to happen to hardcore in the late '90s. I consider it to be the last true "classic" hardcore 7" of the era. Fast, raw and powerful stuff with great riffs and tons of energy and passion. It just seemed to come out of nowhere at a time when real hardcore punk was nearly on it's deathbed. I hear a huge late '80s NYHC influence in their early recordings (especially the demo, first ep and split with No Reply), and a heavy dose of Los Crudos in the later stuff. All of it kills. Riffs like the opening of To The Heart and Race For '97 were just instantly memorable. They seemed to revive hardcore in the late '90s the same way bands like Citizens Arrest and Born Against revived it in the early '90s.

This collection is a complete discography of the band's studio recordings between 1997 and 2003, including a dozen unreleased recordings (all alternate versions or instrumentals of released tracks).
They also had live tracks on a 7" called Intense Energy (Camel Clutch Records) and a live version of To The Heart on the Short, Fast + Loud compilation (Slap A Ham), not in this collection. Thanks to Rich, Jon, Dan and anyone else who sent me music and/or info, it's very appreciated. So here you go, 55 tracks of the mighty Life's Halt. Enjoy.

Life's Halt: 1997-2003

Lineup #1 (1997 to mid 1998 - demo only)
Ernie - vocals
Felix - bass
Charlie - guitar
Anthony - drums

Lineup #2 (1998 to June 2000 - 1st 7", NR split, comp session #1, comp session #2)
 
Ernie - vocals
Felix - bass
Charlie - guitar
Yvo - drums


Lineup #3 (Summer 2000 to December 2001 - WHN split, comp session #3)
Ernie - vocals
Felix - bass
Charlie - guitar
Jon - guitar
Noel - drums


We Sold Our Souls For Hardcore 7" was originally released on Youngblood Records in 1998.


This Is Springfield, Not Shelbyville comp CD came with the Sept. '98 issue of Change Fanzine. The entire issue was dedicated to The Simpsons, and the CD included 50 tracks of punk bands doing Simpsons tribute songs. The Life's Halt track was a parody of the song Oxnard by Ill Repute. Change was published from 1991-2002, owned and operated by Pat West out of CT and NY. Thirteen issues were printed along with two 7"s and one CD.


As The Sun Sets: A Southern Hardcore Compilation CD was released by The Association of Welterweights Records in 1999. Other bands on the comp included No Reply, Ignite, Carry On, Death By Stereo, as well as lots more, but lesser-known bands. The label released only one other CD, A Sometimes Promise discography.


Life's Halt/No Reply split 7" was released on Indecision Records in 2000. The tracks were re-released on CD in 2001 as part of the Indecision Records Split Series CD, along with five other split 7"s.


Barbaric Thrash Demolition Vol. 2 7" was released on 625 Records in 2000. Other bands were Discarga, Esperanza, Jellyroll Rockheads and Limp Wrist.


Memories of Tomorrow comp LP was released on Youngblood Records in the Fall of 2000. Other bands were No Justice, H-Street, No Reply, Best of Times, Holding On, Dirty Dirt & The Dirts, Carry On, What Happens Next?, Gazpacho, Handplant, Vitamin X, Varsity, The Gate Crashers, Committed and Rancor. Released on both LP and CD. Great comp!


Sk8 or Die comp 7" was released on Pigpen Inc. in March of 2001. Other bands were Fistfull, No Reply, WHN? and Dirty Dirt & The Dirts.


Life's Halt/What Happens Next? split LP aka Start Something, was a split release with Youngblood and 625. Released in 2001 on both LP and CD.


Four Corners: An International DIY Positive Hardcore Compilation LP was released on 625 Records in November of 2002. Other bands were Highscore (Germany), Dead End (Sweden), Point of Few (Holland) and Razlog Za (Croatia).


Histeria Vol. 1 comp LP was released on Lengua Armada Discos in 2003. Other bands were Limp Wrist, DS13, Deathreat, Seein' Red, E-150, Esperanza, Sin Orden and Melee. Lengua Armada Discos was run by Los Crudos/Limp Wrist front-man, Martin Sorrondeguy.

The Life's Halt
demo tape was self-released in 1997. Lyrics included. Some of the demos were early versions of tracks from the band's first 7" and split with No Reply, others like Kingdom Come, Ranker and Down were exclusive to this tape. The demo was bootlegged onto vinyl as the '97 Demo 7" (no label). It came with a flyer for a show at Head Line Records, and had a fold out sleeve with lyrics on the back.

The
unreleased material is all alternate versions and instrumentals of released songs, taken from a few different recording sessions. Even though i cleaned up these tracks, the sound quality varies from track to track. It all sounds pretty good though. The last track, comprised of instrumental versions of Skate Fer Fun and No Substance is excellent. Icing on the cake.

Check out the Life's Halt Myspace page here.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Born Without A Face - 1984-1986 Discography



Born Without A Face were a great diverse hardcore band from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They covered it all, from fast and chaotic hardcore, to doomy dirges, to more psychotic and darker sounds. They had an element of metal in their sound at times, but never enough to put them into crossover territory. The band took obvious influences from Corrosion of Conformity, Discharge, Black Flag, The Fix, Black Sabbath, and the early '80s hardcore scene in general, and melded it all into their own powerful sound. They had a lot of great demo material, but unfortunately only released two 7"s, keeping the band relatively obscure. I think a full length would have put this band over the top, and they would have been held in the same regard as their more well-known contemporaries.

Punks Before Profits Records was supposed to release a discography LP entitled "This Is The Hate", but the project got scrapped about a year and a half ago. So here you go, the band's discography (as i know it to be), in great sound quality. Thanks to Geeheeb and Cooch for the music. Enjoy!

Born Without A Face: 1984-1986

Here's a quick rundown:


First up is the band's debut 7", Unbecoming, which was recorded in 1985 and self-released in 1986. A lyric sheet was included, which you can check out here. This is a monster of a record, and my personal fave. Next is the band's follow-up 7", Worship, which was also self-released in 1986. They end this ep with a pulverizing and ominous cover of Heartbreak Hotel (originally recorded by Elvis Presley in 1956), which has to be heard to be believed. After that is Hostages, an exclusive track to the excellent compilation LP, There's A Method To Our Madness, originally released on Phantom Records (Alaska) in 1986 and repressed on We Bite Records (Germany) in 1987. Cover art by RK Sloane, who passed away on October 20, 2006. Born Without A Face contributed 2 tracks to this comp, but the other track, Maelstrom, was released on the Unbecoming 7". Ending the collection are the bands demos. Freakshow (1985) and Psych! (1984). Both fantastic from beginning to end, but i'll say Seven Steps To Hell stands out as my favorite song.

Many of the band's demo tracks appeared on various compilations, mostly tape comps. Here's some that i know of:

"Hideous Freaks Search For Happiness" tape (BCT 1984)
tracks: Only Human / Slum Feeder / Not A Love Song / Another American Success Story

"Numb Tongue No Taste" tape (Empty Records 1984)
tracks: Trash Is Truth / Seven Steps To Hell

"Save The Dead" tape (KML Records 1986)
tracks: Feed Your Head / Next Big Thing

"Godsmell" 2 tape comp (Empty Records 1988)
track: Not A Love Song

"War Between the States: South" comp LP (TPOS 1989)
tracks: Sloth / Seven Steps To Hell / Stubborn Beast Flesh

There's not much info to be found on this band online. Mark Dancey (founding member) went on to play guitar for Big Chief with Barry Henssler of The Necros.

The members of Born Without A Face (during the first 7") were: Mark Dancey, Robert Eastway, Dan Ross and Eric. I'm not sure who played what instrument, as it's not mentioned on the ep.
According to an interview, the band had 3 constant members but went through a dozen drummers. You can check out the interview here.

In 1991, the majority of Born Without A Face formed a band called 36D (which i have yet to hear). This was the lineup:
Robert Eastway - vocals
Dan Ross - guitar
Mank Dancey - bass
Ed Alterman - drums
additional personel: Barry Henssler and Phil Durr

If anyone has any more info on this great band, please leave a comment.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

INFEST 1987-2002 - Discography (remastered)






Disk One revised on Oct. 5, 2012 for better sound quality on the Mankid ep and comp tracks.

Sorry for the delay. So here's what i've been working on for pretty much the past month. 110 tracks of Infest, and by "remastered" i just mean nicely cleaned up. All surface noise and pops removed, and all levels adjusted so every track is the same volume. I think this is going on year 10 that Deep Six Records has had the Infest discography on it's "coming soon" list, so i'm going to take a wild guess and say it's never going to happen. With that in mind, i tried my best to make this collection as close to CD quality as possible. I think it came out great. This is pretty much everything the band has ever recorded, aside from one demo track (Machismo), which i couldn't get a decent version of to work with, and a few samples before certain tracks. I've wanted to put this together for a long time, and it was a labor of love to be sure. I'm glad the fucking thing's finally done. If any band needs to be properly documented, this is it.

I'd say Infest was the band that had the single greatest impact on me as far as hardcore/punk music goes. My first time hearing them was on Pat Duncan's radio show in 1988, during the time the Slave LP was released. The songs were Mindless and Where's the Unity?, and the second i heard those tracks it changed my perception of how powerful music could be. Everything about it just clicked with me immediately. Up to that point i had heard a decent amount of the faster and heavier bands like DRI, Siege, and even Napalm Death. But Infest was a different kind of fast, and a different kind of heavy. It was just monstrous hardcore, like Youth of Today on steroids and speed. This was the band i'd been waiting to hear. I taped Pat's show every Thursday night and would catch an Infest song every now and then, which to me was like hitting the lottery. It was almost a full year later that i finally got a dub of the entire Slave album from a friend in art school. Thanks Marty! I never thought a band would ever have that much of an impact on me again, until the day i heard Neanderthal... but that's a whole other long-winded story.

OK, enough ranting. Here it is. 110 tracks taken from a dozen recordings. Thanks to Dan Hashthrash for the Slave and KXLU rips, Andy (Mortville Records) for the Apocalyptic Convulsions rip, and Gen (Ruido) for the 1987 demo rip. Enjoy!

INFEST Volume One
INFEST Volume Two

Volume One


Slave LP (tracks 1-19)

Originally released on Off the Disk Records (out of Switzerland)/
Draw Blank Records (Infest's own label) in 1988. The Slave LP contained the 10 tracks from the band's previous self-released, self-titled 7" (known as the Machismo 7"), plus 8 new tracks. There were 1,000 made of the original press, which came with a lyric sheet, poster, 2 stickers and 1 flyer. It was recorded at Spot Recording by David Kory in June, 1988. Produced by Infest. Mixed by Matt, John O.D. and Joe. Back-ups by Dave, Matt, Joe, John O.D. and Jeff Banks. Awesome cover art by Seelenlos and graphics by Erich. The LP was re-issued in 1991 by Draw Blank/Deep Six Records, and the artwork changed to the more well known black and white image of a slave being led through the grass on a leash. Slave was bootlegged on LP in 1993 on Sand Im Getriebe Records (out of Germany of course) and also included the band's 2nd 7" (1991), 11 unreleased rehearsal tracks, and the sleeve was a 20 page booklet full of political propaganda. The LP was finally officially re-issued again in 2002 by Deep Six/Draw Blank. The tracks in this collection were taken from the 2002 re-release. Sound quality is fantastic, but unfortunately it's missing the sample at the opening of Sick-O.

1988 lineup
vocals - Joe Denunzio
guitar - Matt Domino
bass - Dave Ring
drums - Chris Clift

Matt Domino on the releasing of the Slave LP:

How did you get everything together so fast, like the 7" and 12"? How did you hook up with a Swiss label?
It actually went slow. We were planning to do a 14 song 7", but I ended up trading our demo to Erich and Thomas of Mega-Wimp fanzine in Switzerland. They really liked us and offered to do a 7" for us. So we recorded 18 songs, 10 for our 7" and eight for them to press up. Later on, they offered to do a 12", so we put 10 of the songs on our 7" as a US pressing and all 18 on their 12" as a European press.


What are the pressings of both the 7" and 12"?

The 7" is: 1000 black and 100 clear. Our 12" on Off the Disk is: 100 amber, 100 pink, 800 black. The colored vinyl came with posters. There might be a second press of the 12" of 500 on multi-colored vinyl, but we are not sure yet. The 12" and 7" are both sold out.


You can read the entire interview here.

The Slave LP still stands as my favorite Infest release. As amazing as the 2nd 7" and the No Man's Slave LP are, there's just something missing that made Slave so great to me. Everything from Matt's guitar sounds, to Joe's rabid vocals, to that thick bass sound that just cuts through everything. Add to that the raw production and perfect arrangement of songs from the start of Break the Chains to the end of Fetch the Pliers. It was a formula that comes along once in a lifetime, and then of course imitated endlessly, but never topped, for over 20 years now.

Infest 7" (tracks 20-29)
Commonly known as the Mankind 7". Originally released on Deep Six/Draw Blank in 1991. Recorded January 1991 at the Annex by Dickie Moe, and mixed by Dave, Joe and Matt. It was bootlegged in 1991 on limited edition blue vinyl (no label), and again in 1994 as a 3-sided 2x7" (no label). "Mankind" on one 7", and the live Gilman tracks from the PHC split 8" (1990 Slap A Ham) on the one-sided 7". The flip-side was screen-printed with a red Infest logo. It was legitimately re-released on 10" vinyl in 2006 (Deep Six/Draw Blank) and included the songs from the Apocalyptic Convulsions 10" (1992 Ax/ction Records) and the Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! - The Record 7" (1991 Slap A Ham) as bonus tracks. It sounds like the "Mankind" 10" is a different mix than the original 1991 7". The tracks in this collection were taken from the 10". Excellent sound.


Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! - The Record 7" (track 30)
Released on Slap A Ham Records in 1991. 64 tracks! Matt Domino plays guitar in 2 other bands on the comp. Neanderthal and Mouthfart (who only have 1 known recorded track). I assume it's Neanderthal under a different moniker... but it could just as well be Infest actually. Give the track a listen. In 2003, Goatsucker Records out of Mexico put out a CD containing all 3
Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! 7"s. Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! - The Record (1991), Son of Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! (1992), and Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh!: A Music War" (1998). All originally on Slap A Ham, and all with a shitload of songs.

Apocalyptic Convulsions 10" (tracks 31-32)
Released on Ax/ction Records in 1992. Limited to 1500 copies. 10" vinyl with poster insert containing liner notes contributed by each band. First 500 copies came with a bonus 7". Great cover art by Morbid Mark (who also did art for MITB). I'd say this comp was half great. It had some killer songs by some of my favorite bands of the time, like Assuck, Charred Remains AKA Man is the Bastard, A.C., Rovsvett and The Scam, but unfortunately had a bunch of 'not so good' bands on there as well, to put it nicely. The 2 Infest tracks on this comp were labeled as "untitled", but had titles later when they appeared as bonus tracks on the Mankind 10".

No Man's Slave LP (tracks 33-51)
Released on Deep Six/Draw Blank in 2002. The music was recorded in 1995 and the vocals were recorded in 2000. For this amazing comeback album, R.D. Davies from Visual Discrimination replaces Chris Clift on drums, and Matt Domino lays down both the guitar and bass tracks. Easily one of the most anticipated hardcore albums of all time, and it's safe to say if knocked everyone on their ass.

Fear of Smell LP (track 52)
Released on Vermiform Records in 1993. Two pressings, 2,441 made. The first 1,000 LPs has custom, hand-made covers. Most were badly drawn cartoons with a marker over a white background (by Sam McPheeters, band members and friends i'm guessing), and some were actually pretty artistic and creative. There's a website that is trying to catalog all 1,000 variations of the LP. Check it out here. And if you have a copy, send in a picture. Fear of Smell was released on CD in 1998 (Vermiform) as 1 pressing of 1,900. One of my favorite compilations of the '90s, and of all time. The Infest track here was ripped from the CD version.

Reality 2 LP (track 53)
Released on Deep Six Records in 1997 on both LP and CD. Issued with a one-sided 8.5"x11" insert. The Infest track on this comp, Cold Inside, was also the opening track to the No Man's Slave LP. Ripped from CD version.

Reality 3 LP (track 54)
Released on Deep Six in 1999. First 300 LPs of first press were on orange vinyl. Released on CD the same year. This is a kick ass song, but i have no idea when it was recorded. I'm guessing it's an outtake from the No Man's Slave sessions? Also ripped from CD version.


Volume 2

1987 demo (tracks 1-19)
This is missing the song Machismo because the track i had was damaged, but i think there are at least 3 other versions of this song in the collection. Tracks from this 20 song demo were bootlegged a bunch of times. First i know of was a one-sided 7" put out in January, 1993 on Shiny Happy Records. Tracks were Where's the Unity?, If I Were You, and Which Side? Six more tracks were bootlegged in 1994 on the Not Over Yet 7" (no label). Not sure how many of these were pressed, but i remember these being everywhere in the late '90s, on various colors. It was re-issued on black vinyl in 1996. Tracks were Sick of Talk, Life's Halt, The End, Dirty Dope Dealer, Son of the Sun, and Going. Finally (at some point in the past 10 years), the entire 20 track demo was put onto 12" vinyl. It was a Fanclub release, and contained 25 tracks. Kind of an odd release, it contained the demo, plus 3 rehearsal tracks (with samples at the beginnings), and a track titled "Outro", which was actually The Melvins (Echo from the album Gluey Porch Treatments). I'm not sure why that was thrown on there, but if you've never heard that Melvins track, i'd say it would be pretty easy to be tricked into thinking it was Infest. The 1987 Demo LP also came with a lyric sheet and a fold out poster sleeve full of classic flyers.

There was a second guitarist on the demo named Rob Arvizu, who left the band shortly after it was recorded. After the Slave LP, the demo has some of my favorite Infest recordings. Lots of great exclusive songs on here like If I Were You, Snooze-U-Loose, Son of the Sun, Going, The End, and Dirty Dope Dealer (one of my favorite Infest tracks). These songs would have made a hell of a 7". The demo has a great raw sound, and Joe's vocals are more psychotic and manic sounding than on the LP, with a weird echoey effect at times that fits the frantic madness of this demo perfectly. I'm really happy with the sound quality of this one. I was able to bring down the high-end a bit so it doesn't sound so blown out.

Infest/PHC split 8" flexi (tracks 20-27)
Released as an 8" flexi-disk on Slap A Ham Records in 1990 as the label's first release. The original version had 5 Infest tracks recorded live at Gilman on 2/10/89.
The Infest track Head First is labeled as "Pissed!". Slap A Ham re-released the record as a 7" in 2000 with 3 extra Infest tracks (from the same show), and 2 extra PHC tracks. The split was bootlegged at some point as the Live and Pissed 7" (no label), with a pretty cool Robert Crumb "Fritz the Cat" cover. These are great live recordings, with a very full and powerful sound.

Live KXLU LP (tracks 28-45)
Recorded live on KXLU on July 1, 1991. This radio set was first put out as a bootleg in 1996 on 10" vinyl entitled How They Poison the Young (Ear Wax Records). Deep Six released it on a 12" in 2001. The majority of the set is from the Mankind 7", with a few comp tracks and a few Slave tracks thrown in. The song entitled Seen It All Before was renamed You're A Star, and Blinded was renamed Freeze Dried, both for the No Man's Slave LP. These are my least favorite Infest recordings, mainly because of Matt Domino's guitar sound which is usually so vicious sounding. To me it's like Infest "unplugged". The energy is still there, but the power is missing. Most people i've talked to have disagreed with me on this, and that's fine. To each his own, i just find it lacking. And with that said it still takes a huge shit on most anything hardcore related in the past 10 years.

Rehearsals (tracks 46-56)
Completely fucking rabid rehearsal session of all Slave tracks. Joe sounds like a complete madman on this, ready to jump out of the speakers and tear your head off. These rehearsal tracks are the one good thing that came out of that completely awful Still Fighting bootleg CD out of Germany. Christ was that thing a mess. They put both the band's first self-released 7" on there as well as the Slave LP, even though they're the exact same recordings. The songs from all of the records (besides Slave) were all lumped into 1 or 2 tracks (28 tracks total for an Infest discography?). And then there's the sound quality. Oof. Anyway, i snagged the rehearsals off that CD and split them up, so like i said, it was good for something. It makes a cool Infest coaster too. Actually i'm being too harsh here. At least they made an effort to get the music out there at a time when the vinyl was hard to find. Cheers!

"INFEST" The dictionary definition: "To overwhelm, swarm, and mar, in a menacing way".
- from Joe Denunzio's Myspace page here.

Unofficial INFEST Myspace pages here and here.

Infest pioneered an entire genre of aggressive hardcore later coined "powerviolence" by Eric Wood of Neanderthal/Man is the Bastard.